Attenborough lands on Our Planet

Sir David Attenborough will provide the voiceover for Netflix’s Our Planet

Natural history icon Sir David Attenborough is to front Netflix’s forthcoming eight-part blue-chip wildlife series Our Planet, which comes from the producers behind Planet Earth.

The show, which sees the US streamer team up with Silverback Films and conservation body the WWF, will combine photography techniques used in Planet Earth with a look at the planet’s remaining wilderness areas and the creatures living there.

Attenborough’s involvement is widely seen as the streamer moving further into territory more normally associated with linear broadcasters, in this case UK pubcaster the BBC.

The wildlife veteran, who is 92, will provide the voiceover for the show, which will include footage shot deep underwater, on ice caps and in deserts and remote rain forests.

It will be filmed using 4K camera technology and will debut in April on the streamer at the same time around the world.

The company has billed the four-year project as one of the largest and most ambitious ever attempted in natural history filmmaking, with Attenbrough describing the show as “a spectacular journey of discovery showcasing the beauty and fragility of our natural world.”

The venture was first unveiled in 2015 and is being led by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey. They created Attenborough-fronted series Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and Blue Planet for the BBC before setting up Silverback Films in 2012. All three series have been available to Netflix subscribers.

The pair have also previously worked on Disney nature films Earth, Bears, African Cats and Chimpanzee.

They have been granted access to WWF projects in protected areas around the world. The conservation group is active in more than 100 countries and has in excess of five million members.

Attenborough remains deeply involved with the BBC despite this latest deal, with his five-part shows Dynasties set to launch on BBC1 in the UK on Sunday.